Untrue us and them stories

I listened to a BBC podcast with Evan Davies being interviewed discussing the way that old people have stolen all the money and young people are skint but having to pay for old folks' pensions and care.

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They went on for some time as though the issue was not in dispute.

It seems to be becoming one of those irrefutable facts, like, we can't afford pensions 'cos "we are all getting older" and migrants are the cause of all our social problems.

Their conclusion was that young people and old people were destined to be at each other's throats.

But then, why let factual information and data spoil a good story? The truth is a bit different.

Present day pensioners are well off - Yes?

Well, it depends who you are, but mainly NO.

Of the approximately 13 million pensioners, three quarters of them (9.8 million) receive the equivalent of or less than the minimum wage (Data from Statista 2025).

In fact, half of all pensioners receive the equivalent of 50 oer cent of the value of the minimum wage.

The wealthier 10 per cent of all pensioners do actually do very nicely, receiving an average of £54,000 per year.